A founder story about identity, curiosity, and becoming more.
For the longest time, I thought “real” startup founders were the ones who could code.
You know, the classic hoodie-wearing archetype who builds entire platforms at 2am, drinks long blacks, and casually says, “Yeah, I pushed a new build last night.”
Meanwhile, I was out here fixing broken website buttons, co-creating NFT projects, and learning Zapier through YouTube tutorials that kept getting interrupted by ads.
I didn’t fit the mould.
Or at least, I thought I didn’t.
But Looking Back… I’ve Always Been Building
Chubbiverse.
The Trusted Voice.
Systems. Workflows. Communities.
Landing pages. Course platforms. Frameworks.
Even my content system is basically a product dressed up as a marketing method.
I was building the entire time. I just didn’t realise it because no one told me this counts.
Identity is strange like that.
Sometimes you need hindsight to see who you’ve been all along.
I Didn’t Become a Technical Founder. I Became a Problem-Solving Founder
The truth is, I’m not drawn to code.
I’m drawn to problems.
How do I make this process easier?
How do I build something that saves people time?
How do I help someone show up online consistently?
How do I turn ideas into repeatable systems?
How do I automate the parts of life that drain me?
This is how I ended up as a marketing and growth and product hybrid founder. Not because I planned it, but because solving problems is where my brain naturally goes.
And when you stack enough problem-solving together, you accidentally build products.
AI Became My Sidekick, Not My Replacement
AI upgraded my builder identity.
Suddenly I could map logic flows.
Outline MVPs.
Turn chaos into clarity.
Write drafts faster.
Think bigger.
Prototype ideas instantly.
Work alongside a “co-founder” who never sleeps.
AI didn’t make me technical. It made me braver.
It gave me permission to try things I would have avoided.
It made building feel less intimidating and more fun.
I still can’t code.
But I can brief a dev, design a system, and ship a version one like nobody’s business.
Identity Is the Silent Boss of Your Life
For years, I told myself I wasn’t a builder.
And because I didn’t see myself that way, I didn’t claim my work fully.
But identity isn’t about titles.
It’s about patterns.
And the pattern is clear.
I build things.
Communities. Products. Systems. Ideas.
Things that help people move.
Things that make life easier.
Things that didn’t exist until I decided they should.
I’ve been a builder this whole time. I just didn’t see it.
So No, I’m Not a Coder. But I Build Anyway.
And honestly, that’s enough.
You don’t need to be technical to build things that matter.
You just need curiosity, courage, a willingness to learn, and a brain that obsesses over making things better.
Everything else can be learned.
Or automated.
Or handed to your AI sidekick.
Being a founder isn’t about fitting the stereotype.
It’s about creating things that help people and becoming more in the process.
So if you’ve ever doubted whether you’re “technical enough,” remember this:
Builders aren’t defined by code.
Builders are defined by motion.
And motion is something we all have access to.
